Here is an updated quick reference and guide to the game. It now includes information from many forum posts and what I thought was good advice from several posters. A lot of this is subjective and you may well have superior ideas on strategy. If nothing else it should help newcomers get an idea without having to search through hundreds of posts. If you see any errors please let me know.

VP & NMStrategic City: 1 VP per turn.
Objective City: 1-3 VP’s per turn.
Destroyed enemy units: per each unit.
In 1864 the Union is more vulnerable to defeat through morale loss.

National Morale is influenced by:-
Capturing objective regions.
Winning battles (when elements are destroyed).
Promotions and dismissals.
War weariness in later years.
Certain player options.

Below a certain level as long as a side is still in control of its capital it will start to regain NM.
NM affects: unit cohesion, economic output, recruits.

CSA NM starts higher and the Union will lose 10 points for not closing on Richmond. This means that even if the Union VP total is higher than the CSA the foreign entry will stay basically the same (there is a roll for the side that has the higher VP and another roll for the side that has the higher NM each turn). If the CSA do not attack they waste their early leader advantage while the Union can out produce it but all things being equal the Union NM will fall faster than the CSA because of war weariness. Therefore the onus is on the Union player as he has got to scramble not only to maintain or increase NM but to keep that narrow margin of accumulated VPs growing.

(Note for new players: taking Nashville, Memphis, Richmond, and New Orleans as stated in the briefing, is not an automatic victory condition, rather it is an example of one way by which you may conceivably break southern morale. There are many other ways to do so as well. Interior cities such as Atlanta are also important to CSA morale and VP, and are worthy objectives as well).

Control & LoyaltyIndians and Partisans will only take control of a city if region has > 50% loyalty, depots and forts will be destroyed by them.

Benefits of loyalty :-
Objectives do not need to be garrisoned to earn VP.
Enemy troop movement detection.
The region will produce more supply, resources and money.
Under-garrisoned regions loyal to the opposing side will gradually erode and a chance
that partisans will appear.
In very hostile regions (< 11% loyalty) non-garrisoned cities may openly revolt.
Capturing strategic cities will send a wave of loyalty checks across the map.

If a D100 < the sum of the police value of all elements in a region loyalty will shift 1% in your favour. You can apply a policy which will bind the loyalty of all regions in the state between 2 values, shifting 1% a turn the value. This will only apply in regions where you have troops or are 51% military controlled.

If you have declared martial law in a state, any region in that state which has a loyalty less than 30% in which you have stationed troops or have at least 51% military control will shift loyalty 1% in your favour. In those regions with a loyalty greater than 70%, loyalty will shift 1% against you. You will also lose VP's rather than gain them for each city you control in that state.

The same rules apply for suspension of Habeus Corpus, except that the lower and upper limits are 15 and 85%, and you will simply not gain any VP's for controlling cities in that state.

Movement & CohesionUnits moving into regions with tracks will not pay > 150% of clear terrain cost.
Units moving into regions with roads or rails will not pay > clear terrain cost.

Cohesion cost during movement :-
Passive posture: -0.25.
Offensive posture: +0.25.
Tracks or rails: -0.20.
Roads: -0.30.
Forced March: +1.
On rail: +0.10 (fixed no other effects apply)
On ship: +0.25 up to +2.25 for severe storm.
Only for Ships: same as above, but add the ship’s model type intrinsic cost (CohMove) instead of the naval move cost.
For land units add the weather modifier (BWP) and the model’s intrinsic cost.
Units with low cohesion will move more slowly. At 0% cohesion movement will be 50%.
Movement will increase cohesion loss more when enemy units are present in the region.

A land unit need only be in a region with a structure to benefit from the structure for shelter. It does not have to be physically inside it although cohesion recovery will be slightly faster if the unit is inside.

A unit with cohesion of zero no longer fires.
From 60% cohesion or less the unit receives an assault penalty of 1% for every 2 pts below that threshold. From 40% cohesion or less the unit receives a fire penalty of 1% for every 2 pts below that threshold. Every time a unit is hit during combat and it has 50% or less of its max hit value a cohesion test is made. If D100 > the modified cohesion value the unit routes.

You cannot enter a land region if the (enemy patrol value/friendly evasion value) > (your military control + (2 * friendly evasion value)) in the region you want to move into.

Evasion Value:
The unit with the lowest evasion value will determine the evasion value of the unit stack.
Bad weather will give a bonus to the evasion value. Additionally you will get some bonus/penalty for a small/big stack.

Patrol/Zone of Control value:
The patrol values of all elements are added.
A fort gives a large bonus to the patrol value (depends on fort level and military control).
Military control in a region also gives a bonus to the patrol value.

Note that a small ZOC will probably not be sufficient to prevent you from entering a region where you have no control at all (reason for the 2 * friendly EV).

A force will adopt an offensive posture if friendly military control < 6%.
A force will also adopt an offensive posture if friendly military control < 11% during
amphibious assaults or river crossing unless the force consists entirely of irregulars.
To use rail network: 25%+ military control in region required.

The “Evade” command only has an effect on moving units.
If you get a very good forced march roll, you move faster without additional cohesion losses.

Press down the shift key when plotting a move back into your current region.

CombatAn Army stack is more reactive so it will be more likely to join Corps in adjacent regions by the sound of guns, or will commit to help another Corps in the same region more quickly. But an Army does not benefit from the bonus coming from itself which Corps get, so a given Division will be more efficient in a Corps compared to being in the Army. An Army stack will initiate combat if it is the only stack in a region, otherwise it will only act to support a friendly stack.

Multiple Corps engagement in a region is dependant on the strategic rating of each Corps Commander, if he is activated or not, if he has a command penalty, and what is the speed of the Corps (full cavalry Corps react faster). Also there can be a screening effect if you have a Corps in offensive against another in offensive, unless your first Corps is overwhelmed, a second Corps in a defensive stance will not intervene. Corps will support each other in a region more quickly than independent forces.

Factors influencing the chance of marching to the sound of the guns: military control in both regions, distance (rail/river transport availability and weather are taken into consideration), cohesion, the leaders strategic rating and activation and, if the unit is part of an Army structure, the distance of the Army HQ (if the HQ is adjacent there is an increased chance).
You never march to the sound of guns if you have the Evade Fight order or a locked unit in a stack.

Trenches: level 5 – 8 can only be built if artillery is present in the region. These only increase artillery firepower and allow river and coast defence. The strategic level of the general will influence the amount of time required for entrenchment.
Pre-war forts are level 1. Trench 5+ are level 2 for siege calculation. The more units in a besieged fort the more supply consumption and the more losses due to siege. With the high level of fortification now allowed consider fortifying outside of non-fortified towns with a large force but realise that units will have an increased frontage when compared to town defenders. Garrison town with militia.

The frontage rules do not allow for more than 4 artillery units to fire in combat at a time, so using more than 4 artillery batteries per Division and per Corps level is not advantageous. It is OK to have up to 4 artillery units in the Corps stack and also up to 4 in each Division under that Corps.
**** Under ideal terrain and weather conditions I think the limit could be greater than this - but it's a good rule of thumb ****

Stacks tend to target first the biggest enemy stacks, but can be fooled by a smaller one. Offensive stacks are always targeted before defensive ones.

The sharpshooter gives all elements in the same unit the initiative bonus. It does not work by attaching one sharpshooter to the Corps, you need one in every Division to give all your Divisions the bonus. Or, you can stick it in a couple of Divisions and hope those are the ones selected for the combat phase. But, its a unit level attribute, like strong morale and entrencher.
Elite or high morale elements also provide their bonus to the Division. They are the special units that show up by event with a black cross on a gold circle symbol. Their bonus is at least as important to your divisions as sharpshooters.

Morale checks are made in combat based on cohesion level and the following :-
Militia fighting in it’s own State.
Trench level (capped at 4).
Loss level of sub unit.
Fighting for a symbolic objective.

The game scores Morale and VP’s heavily on elements destroyed outright; so, if you defend to the bitter end, say, in a city under siege, you are giving your opponent a good point scoring opportunity. Better to retreat, let a city go, preserve your Army, and build up for a counter-attack if you really want it back.

A passive posture will give a +10% chance of escaping battle but during battle your protection rating and your discipline stat is 90% of what you should get.

A force will not be able to retreat from battle into regions with < 5% military control.
33% of battle casualties are added back to your pool.

A stack has the hide value of the worst unit modified as follows :-
Only contains leaders: +1.
Small force (< 5 CP or units) or passive: +1.
Wild terrain: +1.
Bad weather: +1.
Large force (> 12 CP or units): -1.
If a unit is in a region with a structure it’s hide value is set to 1 unless in a passive posture.

RecruitmentMilitia can be merged, freeing up a slot in the force pool, and have an event driven possibility of becoming regular units.
Partisans will only appear in the force pool after specific events ('Southern Unionists' for the Union, the 'Partisan Rangers Act' for the CSA) otherwise they will appear by chance. The patriot trait will increase this chance. Partisans and revolters are not the same. Revolters appear in ungarrisoned towns, partisans in hills or forests.

In late 1862, your troops will start to upgrade equipment. For example late infantry have defensive fire which is much stronger than the offensive. The same process applies to cavalry benefiting the Union with a faster upgrade rate. This simulates the Union cavalry's possession of the Sharps Carbine late in the war which was able to fire several shots in a matter of seconds. This is reflected by an increased fire rate for the unit.

If you put a recruitment officer in a city with at least a size 5, he will give you a bonus to your national manpower of 3-6 conscript companies per turn.

Each stat (strat/off/def) is rolled for a chance to get an increase from 0 to +3, with +1 being fairly easy, +2 more difficult and +3 seldom reached. This chance being vastly influenced by the base rating of the Army Commander. For strategic, the roll is the same, except you get less and can even get a penalty if the Army Leader is poor.

A Leader that is not activated receives a 35% speed penalty to all movement but a combat penalty equal to enemy military control of region, to a maximum of 35%. (Not applicable to forces in passive posture)

An Army Commander with a Strategic Rating of 4 will pass down SR bonuses as follows:

8% of the time the Corps Cdrs receive a (+2) SR bonus
58% of the time the Corps Cdrs receive a (+1) SR bonus
33% of the time the Corps Cdrs receive a (0) SR bonus

An Army Commander with a Strategic Rating of 3 will pass down SR bonuses as follows:

50% of the time the Corps Cdrs receive a (+1) SR bonus
50% of the time the Corps Cdrs receive a (0) SR bonus

An Army Commander with a Strategic Rating of 2 will pass down SR bonuses as follows:

66% of the time the Corps Cdrs receive a (-1) SR bonus
33% of the time the Corps Cdrs receive a (0) SR bonus

This does not include any bonuses to SR that the Army commander may have due to Experience.
The increase is applied to each element's fire and assault values. What these Leader modifications do in reality is to magnify the importance of firing first.
The side that fires first in a round gets to inflict casualties prior to suffering any.

Command Cost: Basic Unit 1 to 4, Division 4, HQ 4.

USA:
Early May 1861: 6 Divisions
Early June 1861: 12 Divisions
Early July 1861: 60 Divisions

CSA:
Early May 1861: 3 Divisions
Early June 1861: 6 Divisions
Early July 1861: 30 Divisions

When within a division, artillery will support the elements of the division against the opposing unit. If used as in independent unit within a corps, the artillery will instead always fire against the strongest engaged enemy unit.

Corps outside of their Army range are not dismissed but suffer from -1 to strat and -1 to off rating (and won't get the Army Commander bonus).

Whatever your stance you get a combat penalty equal to the lack of military control in the region maxed at 35%. i.e. if you are inactive and fight in a region with 65% or less military control, you are at -35%. This is the same penalty as lack of CP so this does not double if you are already at -35%.

Leaderless troops suffer from movement and combat penalties but can assume
an offensive posture. Leaders can gain experience in battle which also leads to better seniority.

To promote a leader to a new rank it is required that:-
He is potentially promotable (the database must have an entry for his new grade). This is indicated by a ‘Yes’ in the ‘Is promotable’ line in the element detail window. He has a seniority of 1 or 2 in his current rank or he has gained 4 points of seniority since he appeared on the map (the base seniority is under brackets in the Element Detail Window, top panel section).

NavalCurrently cohesion, strength and the supply level of Naval units does not have an impact on blockade effectiveness.

Blockade ships are the best for blue water blockades aided by a frigate for higher detection value. In the blockades box, stance has no impact, the strongest side will try to find the weakest. The calculation is made by using the patrol value and evade values.

The parameter used to calculate the blockade % is the blockade value of a given element. The % is a reduction to the output of all the CSA cities. This is in addition to the cut done to a given port by a brown blockade strategy. The two are complementary.
The % are halved when you compute output, i.e. a 40% blue water blockade gives a 20% reduction in money, WSU, ammo, supply for the CSA.

The overall blockade % is weighted toward the less blockaded box to force a spread.
The maximum being 99% (meaning that all the high seas are under control, thus reducing CSA production output by 49.5%). Before reaching this costly high point it is better to brown water blockade the bigger CSA ports one by one.

For the runners make sure you have the "Evade" command selected. If you don't combine them into fleets it doesn't risk anything but that one ship when detected. Brigs make good
Blockade runners.

Shipping Box
For escorting transport fleets in the shipping box, the frigate seems like the best choice, having the highest detection value so giving your fleet the best chance to find confederate raiders. Split fleets in this box into two groups, the transport group, with one or two escorts, set to evade combat and the hunter group, with largely frigates and the occasional steam frigate in case combat gets heavy set to seek out CSA raiders.

Brigs are good for brown water blockades simply because a Brig is the cheapest combat unit available.

A blockaded harbour gives systematically a 50% cut on all the above. Then this is further adjusted by your national morale and region loyalty.

Shallow water ships built in the Great Lakes can move into the Mississippi river system through the Ohio and Erie Canal. The canal runs frome Erie, PA through the Meadville and Centre regions, and exits into Shenango Curve on the Ohio River at Franklin, PA. The canal is not functional if the regions it runs through are frozen.

Pacific
An event (planned but not yet implemented) makes the USA lose VP if the fleet leaves (political and national prestige loss). Also a Pacific fleet will impact on the Union favourably during the 'Chapman Plot' and 'CSS Shenandoah in the Pacific' events.

EconomicsDon't always industrialise the "best" states. The cost to industrialise the lower potential states is significantly less than the higher potential ones. As CSA set North Carolina and possibly Tennessee to light industrialization and the cost is still lower than setting Georgia to low.
Consider industrialisation of states close to combat regions to reduce resupply distance to units but beware of improvements falling into enemy hands.

The CSA need to be pulling in at least 70-80 war supplies per turn to maintain an effective Army. You can get that with blockade runners but if they're bringing in War supplies then they're not bringing in money. The less money that comes in, the more you have to raise, the higher your inflation gets, the more things cost.

Be aware that you can left click on the text in the financial and draft options to change the option available.

Town lvl 1-2, fort, wagon, harbors 1-4: don't send supply, can receive from up to 5 regions away
Town 3+, harbors 5+, depots: can send
Any unit can ask for supplies from any structure or wagon, adjacent or in same region.
Any unit can ask for supplies from another unit, if within the same stack.

25% military control is required to allow supply to pass through a region.

Blockading a port will result in a 50% loss of production for that port.

The supply phase is split into three segments. In each segment supply can be pushed up to 5 regions away from a stock to a destination. Whether you have 0, 1/3, 2/3 or all of the rail/river capacity spare is of importance rather than the precise numbers (ie if rail capicity is 250/300 then it will still only be as effective as at 200/300).

For riverine supply distribution using the riverine pool, movement is blocked by regions which have either an enemy naval unit or are under the guns of a fort with artillery or a unit with positioned artillery (lvl 5+ entrenchments).

For oceanic supply distribution harbours will not be able to receive supply if blockaded but neighbouring enemy forts alone, without some ships, will not blockade a harbour.

You are able to see your own and your opponent stacks supply condition from the stack base when using the supply filter.

RaidsPut militia in every border city and the cities behind the first line. If raiders destroy RR repair it with a group of roving militia. Place gunboats on rivers to prevent land units from passing.

Buy small groups of cavalry (possibly 2 cavalry and one horse artillery) to sit in or near the forward border cities. Try and get at least 3-4 groups. If decent cavalry leaders with high strategic values are available use these to lead the groups. Raiders should be chased down within a couple of turns and by then their cohesion should be low making them slow and weak. Do not let raiders capture cities as they will then be able to resupply.

MiscKentucky.
KY secedes: 10% chance until it either becomes neutral or mid 1862 reached. Condition: CSA morale must be higher than USA.

KY neutral: automatic if it does not secede before mid 1862. Chance influenced by the presence of troops at the border. If CSA masses roughly 5-6 Bgds there is a 25% chance each turn that KY will go neutral (if you want it to secede, don't mass troops nearby). If USA, place 4-5 Bgds for max 35% chance of forcing neutrality (the Dick Robinson event increases this chance).

Invasion: the invasion event is triggered by an attack of one camp on the KY militia units of the other side causing KY to enter the war on the side of the defending militia. The defending militia must suffer casualties so a siege alone may not force KY war entry.

The map scroll speed can be tailored to your preference :-
In settings general.opt

I use :-
ScrollAmount = 100
ScrollDelay = 0
ScrollIncrease = 0

Windows 7 (and maybe Vista) saves certain files in directories held under users/(username)/AppData/VirtualStore
When I make changes to say a .opt file to change scroll settings etc I have to make the changes to files held here as making changes to the actual files held in the game directory has no effect.

PBEM tip :-
As host zip up and send all of the current turn files to your opponent. If you delete anything by mistake or your PC crashes you will be able to resume the game later (this has saved me on one or two occasions).
If you don't trust your opponent with your turn don't play him, and as host he has no choice but to trust you!

** I don't trust you! So why trust me? **
Mr Strummer.

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With patch 1.09d it is now possible to set the following parameters in the Bombard&Blockade file to allow coastal artillery to blockade adjacent enemy ports. This should only be done for PBEM games as the AI has not been programmed to deal with this.
If you wish to allow friendly coastal artillery to counter this you will need to add a value to bloAdjFriendlyFort.

Forrest said something about killing a Yankee for each of his horses that they shot. In the last days of the war, Forrest had killed 30 of the enemy and had 30 horses shot from under him. In a brief but savage conflict, a Yankee soldier "saw glory for himself" with an opportunity to kill the famous Confederate General... Forrest killed the fellow. Making 31 Yankees personally killed, and 30 horses lost...